Life: Week 47

Stocking up on candies for the Norwegian mitten advent calendar I finished just in time!

This week was packed with delicious meals, sunshine, and family. After work Wednesday, Andy and I hopped on a plane to spend a long weekend with his sister in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving. While there, I did a lot of reading and catching up with family, but most of my time was spent reading to and playing with my two year old niece. We had so many adventures! 

And the food! Before Thanksgiving, by brother-in-law cooked some of his wonderful Texas-style chili, then there was Thanksgiving dinner itself, with two turkeys, four pies, and all my favorite sides. The night after our Thanksgiving dinner, we mixed the leftover chili with leftover turkey and sides, something I would highly recommend. Overall, it was an absolutely wonderful way to spend the holiday. 

Life: Week 46

And then, suddenly, it's winter. Seriously, I didn't even have time to make the Game of Thrones - winter is coming reference. This week started with noticeably colder weather, then an intense storm that knocked out the power both at my work and at home. By the end of the week, the sunshine had returned, but Friday morning brought below-freezing temperatures and the first frost. After the storm, many of the trees are now bare, but there are still a few beautiful golden trees for me to admire - the last gasp of fall. I always miss the leaves once they're gone, so I'm trying to soak up all the color while it lasts.

The silver lining of cold and stormy weather keeping me indoors is that I've had lots of time for knitting. So far this month, I've finished two Christmas projects and my mini mitten advent calendar. There will definitely be more photos of that after Thanksgiving, once I start decorating for Christmas!

Life: Week 45

This week was, wet, dark, and stormy. It started off with a wonderful weekend relaxing on Whidbey Island. I did lots of reading, and made a pot of spiced cider that we drink throughout the weekend. The rest of the week, with these short, dark days I found it so much harder to take photos. Back in high school and college, when all I used was an inexpensive camera to shoot black and white film, I loved taking gloomy night photos. These days I'm so afraid of a little grain or distortion, that I never take those moody photos anymore. I'll be trying to find ways to use the low light over the next months. 

Luckily, I did get to watch a few good sunsets from the office, and had a wonderful lunch visit from my niece (and my sister and mom!) to brighten up the gloomy week!

Life: Week 44

This week was all grey skies, spectacular sunsets, and vibrant fall color. After my short trip to LA last week, I was exhausted. Andy and I barely left home the entire weekend! Throughout the work week, the weather alternated from brief sunshine, to dull grey skies, to pouring rain. The only consistency was the almost wintry chill in the air. Perfect late fall weather! Mind-week, we decided to take a last minute trip to Whidbey Island for the weekend. We both left work a little early, and made it to the Mukilteo Ferry in time for a truly stunning sunset. The week came to a perfect end with bacon, egg & cheese burgers and a dark winter beer.

Also, I finally gave in and tried the cookies atone of my favorite lunch spots. Salted dark chocolate chip - SO delicious!

October in Books

Books! I love reading them, and I love hearing about what other people are reading. I already keep track of the books I read on goodreads, but since I enjoy seeing what other bloggers read so much, I thought I'd share what I've been reading here. I'd love to hear what you've been reading too! 

Best surprise:
So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
This was the October book for my book club. I read it almost entirely on the flight to LA, and found it very clever and interesting. It felt a lot like a story from This American Life in book form, which makes sense, since the author has contributed to the show. We had lots to discuss with this one. If you have a book club, I'd highly recommend reading it!

Biggest disappointment:
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
I'd been wanting to read this one since it was published, so I was disappointed to find the main character extremely unlikeable. Still, like every other Haruki Murakami book I've read, his writing had a surreal quality that kept me interested enough to finish the book. I definitely didn't hate it, but considering how much I've loved his other books, this was a let down.

Also read:
Things We Set On Fire by Deborah Reed

Currently reading:
Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah